Study Reveals Nearly 2 Million Excess Deaths After China Abruptly Ended COVID Restrictions

According to a new U.S. study, China’s hasty decision to abandon its stringent COVID-19 rule, which allowed the virus to infect its 1.4 billion citizens, may have caused roughly 2 million additional fatalities in the ensuing two months.

The Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s study was based on an internet search and a sample of mortality data that was published by various Chinese universities.

Between December 2022 and January 2023, it was discovered that there were an estimated 1.87 million additional fatalities among adults over 30 from all causes, with the exception of Tibet.

Chinese authorities’ decision to scrap the three-year zero-COVID policy, which involved widespread testing and strict, ongoing lockdowns, resulted in a huge increase in hospital admissions and fatalities that, according to health experts, the government mostly failed to acknowledge.

According to the study, which was released on Thursday in JAMA Network Open, the actual number of deaths far outnumbered the Chinese government’s official estimate from January that 60,000 people with COVID-19 had passed away in hospitals since the zero-COVID policy had been abandoned a month earlier.

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China Ceases Official Daily Death Statistics

In the study, researchers used data from searches on Baidu, a well-known Chinese internet search engine, as well as information from published obituaries to undertake statistical analysis.
A request for comment on the report was not immediately answered by China’s National Health Commission.

World health experts urged China to release more information on a number of occasions as stories of growing hospitalizations and deaths began to circulate, particularly as the threat of new variations gained attention.

Towards the end of 2022, China stopped releasing official daily death statistics. In China, there have reportedly been 121,628 COVID fatalities, out of a total of over 7 million worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

In a rare move, one Chinese province briefly posted information on its website in July showing a 70% increase in cremations in the first quarter of this year. China’s top officials declared a “decisive victory” over COVID in February.

But, the virus is still spreading throughout the nation, and on Thursday, according to Chinese state media, Beijing health officials stated COVID is still the most contagious sickness in the city.

The current prevalent strain in China, according to officials, is a novel Omicron variation known as EG.5 or “Eris” named after the Greek Goddess of strife and discord.

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Source: Yahoo!